Development, testing, and deployment of an air sampling manifold for spiking elemental and oxidized mercury during...

The Reno Atmospheric Mercury Intercomparison Experiment (RAMIX) was in Reno, NV from August 22, 2011 to September 16, 2011. The goals of the experiment were to compare existing and new methods for measurements of ambient elemental and oxidized Hg, and to test these with quantitative spikes of Hg(0), HgBr2, O3 and water vapor. In this paper we describe the design, testing, and deployment of a high flow manifold system designed to deliver ambient air and spiked compounds to multiple instruments simultaneously. The manifold was constructed of 1" OD PFA tubing and heated to 115 °C for the entire active zone. Manifold flow was controlled at ∼200 LPM using a blower and a velocity sensor in a feedback control system. Permeation tubes in controlled ovens were used to deliver Hg(0) and HgBr2. Ozone was generated from a small UV lamp in a flow of high purity O2. Water vapor was generated by pumping a flow of purified N2 through heated, high purity water. The spiking delivery for Hg(0), HgBr2, O3, and water vapor after dilution in the manifold ranged up to 20 ng m(-3), 0.64 ng m(-3), 100 ppbv, and 20 g kg(-1), respectively. During laboratory tests the average transmission efficiencies for Hg(0), HgBr2, and O3 were found to be 92%, 76%, and 93%, respectively.